Proud NYC public elementary school teacher, mom of four cool girls, wife to the best nerd in Brooklyn
Jul 8, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Long covid & educators
At my school, I’m aware of 3 teachers who have had long lasting covid issues.
2 had memory/cognition issues that are improved but not completely gone. The third has chronic exhaustion that started with her first covid infection.
1/
She’s done with covid safety and has been for a long time, while continuing to acknowledge she has long covid (in those words).
No precautions of any kind. Really hoping she doesn’t continue to get sick but…we work in a school.
2/
Jan 19, 2023 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Dispatch from a Manhattan Elementary School:
8 kids in class of 22 get covid.
No note goes home to families because NYC DOE close contact letters have ended (1 covid test was sent). 2 parents run into each other at drugstore & start to put together how bad the situation is. 1/
A school admin finally confirms outbreak but says, “I’m not even supposed to tell you this, so please keep it quiet.”
On class email group, most class parents agree to test kids. Two more covid cases were found. 2/
Jun 15, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
A Brooklyn teacher friend has a 1st grade student with cognitive issues after having covid this winter.
The school just put a 1-to-1 para in place for him for fall, since he’s unable to do school work without that level of assistance now.
🧵 1/
His evaluating team, pediatrician, etc. have all seen an increase in students like him.
After letting many 1000s of NYC students get covid this year by refusing to do anything to protect them, there’s no indication @NYCMayor and @NYCSchools will improve safety next year. 2/
Jun 15, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
You may have seen that @NYCMayor & @NYCMayorsOffice had @NYCParks put out an announcement that services will be limited bc of a “national lifeguard shortage”.
Safe to assume we’ll be seeing similar manipulated announcements for months.
Feel free to join me in making some! 🧵
“Due to the Great Rhythm Shortage of 2022, we at @NYCSchools have had to discontinue music programs at many schools.
In unrelated news, every person in the NYPD will be receiving a bald eagle for personal protection.”
Jan 16, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
There’s absolutely nothing to suggest NYC is trying to prevent students & staff from getting covid.
Refusing high quality student masks, totally inadequate testing, closure thresholds that allow huge outbreaks, etc.
@NYCMayor made a deliberate call to infect NYC kids.
🧵 1/
It only took 10 school days for 78,000 kids and 20,000 staff to test positive (likely the numbers are much higher).
Because the city refused to provide baseline testing, thousands of covid+ people returned to school January 3rd. Now covid is spreading IN NYC schools.
2/
Sep 18, 2021 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
I’ve had a lot of conversations with other NYC school staff about how the first week went, safety-wise, and these were some of the concerns:
1. The lack of guidelines around things like where staff eat lunch and with whom. 🧵
1/
*Staff (both vaccinated & unvaccinated) eating together while they plan.
*vaccinated & unvaccinated teachers eating before or WITH students in the classrooms because that’s how the school’s lunch period works. (Covid particles can hang in the air for hours).
2/
Aug 19, 2021 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
The biggest question a lot of NYC school staff and families have about the city/DOE choosing Intellipure/Delos air purifiers is* why* they were chosen.
After all, these units didn’t appear on any independently tested recommendation lists by air quality scientists. 🧵
1/
In fact, there didn’t seem to be ANY data about them, beyond claims the company wrote itself. Other teachers and I have requested independent data for months—we were told things like “we don’t have anything like that” and “I’ll ask the engineers for that and get back to you”. 2/
Aug 18, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Seeing lots of concern from experts about how schools will handle lunch (& other maskless times). This concern makes a lot of sense considering how contagious Delta is & that so many kids are unvaccinated.
What I’m not seeing is much conversation around this topic in NYC. 🧵 1/
Last spring, a lot of schools utilized outside space. But in many schools, that was with a fraction of the students. I know some of those schools won’t be able to manage that this year. And there will be a lot of bad weather days, like last year, where eating will be inside. 2/
Aug 16, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
One striking thing in my conversations with NYC families who are hesitant to send children back in school buildings this fall: how little many of them trust @NYCMayor.
There are a variety of reasons. Some were personally affected or deeply shaken...
🧵
1/
by BDB’s reluctance to close schools and lockdown the city in March 2020, which led to more cases, and eventually, deaths.
For even more of them, it’s the fact that he did so little to improve schools in their neighborhoods during his tenure.
2/
Just before the NYC school year ended, DOE announced each classroom will have 2 HEPA air purifiers next year.🧵
It sounded great! HEPA purifiers have been recommended by air quality experts all year.
The problem is that the units that have been distributed in NYC so far, last school year, and the second units (which some teachers already received in June) are NOT HEPA.
Jul 8, 2021 • 13 tweets • 6 min read
Reading about how the #AmericanRescuePlan is being used in schools this coming school year to facilitate things like more counselors & staff. Great news.
But I’m also hearing from school staff all over the country who are worried about covid safety in schools. A 🧵
During the last school year, I “met” teachers, paras, aides, custodians, kitchen staff, & others from more than 20 states. Mostly through @saribethrose and @NewsHourExtra’s incredible school staff forums, and via @VinGuptaMD and @jfeldman_epi.
Mar 27, 2021 • 22 tweets • 5 min read
Before I start a very much needed spring break, two things I've been thinking about a lot this week:
1. One of my own kids testing positive for covid
2. Opening NYC schools more
A long🧵
We joined the many NYC families this year who have gotten a + test for a child. It was frightening. The fear that a child will get/stay really sick. The fear that they've spread it to the rest of the family. The difficulty of quarantining four young kids from each other.
Feb 18, 2021 • 19 tweets • 6 min read
For months, but especially after the new CDC school recs came out, supporters of reopening all schools now have been peddling the idea that schools across the country have been open all year successfully. This argument is used to push for ALL schools to be opened now.
A long 🧵
Though some schools in the U.S. are open & doing well with safety protocols, many places used as examples of opening success have profoundly unsafe schools & are neglecting covid safety. Some have been lucky not to have outbreaks and other issues--it's not that they're safe.
Nov 15, 2020 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
@NYCMayor@DOEChancellor@UFT@MOREcaucusUFT@safeschoolsny@MarkTreyger718@NYCSchools@nycgov Speaking only for myself, as an NYC teacher, I want schools to stay open safely, if that’s possible. I’m even, personally, hoping scientists say the 3% threshold can be safely moved.
But I cannot get over, even more than the other myriad issues with this return to school, the disaster of a school covid testing plan. To see some reporters, parents, etc. regularly mention the testing as a reason schools are safe is infuriating.
I was really anxious about the September reopening and had concerns about ventilation, instructional lunches, etc. Then we went back to school and I was blindsided by how absolutely it was to be with a group of ICT first graders again. I’ve loved it so much.
